Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Soft Heather’

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Soft Heather’, characterized by its uniformly mounded plant habit; decorative-type inflorescences that are about 4.5 cm in diameter; attractive lavender-colored ray florets; numerous inflorescences per plant; and very uniform flowering.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora andreferred to by the cultivar name Soft Heather.

The new cultivar is a product of a mutation induction breeding programconducted by the inventor in Fort Myers, Fla., and Salinas, Calif. Theobjective of the breeding program is to create new garden-typeChrysanthemum cultivars having with desirable inflorescence form andcolor and good garden performance.

The new cultivar originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of theChrysanthemum cultivar Heather (disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,440)to X-ray radiation at a level of 1,750 rads in March, 1994. Followingthe radiation treatment, the cuttings were rooted and terminal apiceswere removed (pinched) three times to promote lateral branchdevelopment. After lateral branches from the third pinch reachedsufficient size, terminal cuttings were harvested, planted and floweredin a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. The cultivar Soft Heatherwas discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plantwithin this population in August, 1994. The selction of this plant wasbased on its desirable ray floret color and good form.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cutting taken in acontrolled environment in Salinas, Calif., has shown that the uniquefeatures of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true totype in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Soft Heather has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength and lightintensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of ‘Soft Heather’. These characteristicsin combination distinguish ‘Soft Heather’ as a new and distinctcultivar:

1. Uniformly mounded plant habit.

2. Decorative-type inflorescences that are about 4.5 cm in diameter.

3. Attractive lavender-colored ray florets.

4. Numerous inflorescences per plant.

5. Very uniform flowering.

The new Chrysanthemum is similar to the parent cultivar Heather. Howeverin side-by-side comparisons under commercial practice, plants of the newChrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Heather in thefollowing characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about four or five daysearlier than of plants of the cultivar Heather grown under naturalseason conditions.

2. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum are lighter in colorthan ray florets of plants of the cultivar Heather.

3. Ray floret color of plants of the new Chrysanthemum fades more thanray floret color of plants of the cultivar Heather.

4. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more compact than plants of thecultivar Heather.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of thenew cultivar.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective viewof a typical flowering plant of ‘Soft Heather’.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view oftypical inflorescences of the cultivar ‘Soft Heather’. These photographsshow the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain incolored reproductions of this type. Floret and foliage colors in thephotographs may differ from the actual colors due to light reflectance.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observationsand measurements describe plants grown in Leamington, Ontario, Canada,under conditions which approximate those generally used in commercialgarden Chrysanthemum production. One rooted cutting was planted in a15-cm container on Jul. 20, 1998 and plants were grown outdoors undernatural season conditions. Measurements and numerical values representaverages for typical flowering containers.

Botanical classification: Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar SoftHeather.

Commercial classification: Decorative-type garden chrysanthemum.

Parentage: Induced mutation of Dendranthema grandiflora cultivarHeather, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,440.

Propagation:

Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to rooting.—Seven to ten days with soil temperatures of 21° C.

Rooting habit.—Fine, fibrous and well-branched.

Plant description:

Appearance.—Perennial herbaceous decorative-type garden Chrysanthemum.Inverted triangle. Stems initially upright, then outwardly spreadinggiving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant. Freely branchingwith lateral branches potentially developing at every node, whenpinched, about 10 laterals develop.

Plant height.—About 30 cm.

Plant spread.—About 44 cm.

Foliage description.—Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 4.7 cm.Width: About 4.4 cm. Apex: Mucronate. Base: Truncate. Margin: Palmatelylobed, sinuses mostly parallel. Texture: Upper surface sparselypubescent; lower surface moderately pubescent. Veins prominent on lowersurface. Petiole length: About 1.1 cm. Petiole diameter: About 3 mm.Color: Young foliage upper surface: 147A. Young foliage lower surface:147B. Mature foliage upper surface: 147A. Mature foliage lower surface:147B. Venation upper surface: 147A to 147B. Venation lower surfaces:147B.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.—Decorative-type inflorescence form with oblong-shaped rayflorets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage, arising fromleaf axils. Disk and ray florets arranged acropetally on a capitulum.One inflorescence per terminal with numerous inflorescences per plant,about 9 per latual stem.

Flowering response.—Under natural season conditions, plants flower inearly October in the Northern Hemisphere, about 73 days after planting,and flower for at least three weeks depending on weather conditions.

Inflorescence bud (before showing color).—Height: About 5 mm. Diameter:About 7 mm. Phyllary color: Close to 141A.

Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 4.5 cm. Depth (height): About 1.7cm. Diameter of disc: About 2.5 mm.

Ray florets.—Shape: Oblong, concave; fused at base. Length: About 2.1cm. Width: About 6 mm. Apex: Dentate. Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth,glabrous. Orientation: Initially upright, then horizontal. Number of rayflorets per inflorescence: Typically more than 150. Color: When opening,upper and lower surfaces initially close to white, then: 77A; white atbase. Opened inflorescence: Upper surface: 77A to 77B to 77C. Lowersurface: 77C to 77D to lighter lavender, close to 75C to 75D.

Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, apex dentate. Length: About 3 mm. Width:Apex: About 1 mm. Base: About 1 mm. Number of disc florets perinflorescence: Typically about 15. Color: Immature: 154A. Mature: Apex:9A. Mid-section and base: Whitish green.

Peduncle.—Aspect: Flexible, angled about 45° to the stem. Length: Firstpeduncle: About 6.2 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 7.8 cm. Diameter: About 2mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: 141A.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anthercolor: 9A. Pollen: Scarce. Gynoecium: Present on both ray and discflorets.

Disease resistance: Resistance to known Chrysanthemum diseases has notbeen observed on plants grown under commercial production conditions.

Seed production: Seed production has not been observed.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed